Reds Sign Eric Milton

[WC64]

Should I get excited or will they disappoint me again?

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1953888

CINCINNATI -- Free agent Eric Milton and Cincinnati agreed to a three-year deal Monday as the Reds kept revamping their pitching staff.


Eric Milton
Starting Pitcher
Philadelphia Phillies
Profile


2004 SEASON STATISTICS
GM W L Sv K ERA
34 14 6 0 161 4.75






Milton, 29, led Philadelphia in wins, starts and strikeouts last season, going 14-6 with a 4.75 ERA in 34 starts. He struck out 171.



The signing gives the Reds a proven left-hander in a rotation that desperately needed one.


Milton went 71-57 with a 4.76 ERA in 200 appearances with Minnesota and Philadelphia. He made the AL All-Star team in 2001, and went 1-0 with a 1.65 ERA with the Twins in the 2002 and 2003 playoffs.



Milton also pitched the fifth no-hitter in Twins' history on Sept. 11, 1999, striking out a career-high 13 Angels.



The Reds have spent the offseason overhauling their bullpen and rotation on a limited budget. They kept Paul Wilson, their top starter last season, by giving him a two-year deal, and acquired right-hander Ramon Ortiz from Anaheim.



Cincinnati has added David Weathers, Ben Weber and Kent Mercker to the bullpen.

[ThaSaltCracka]

<yawn> how much are they paying him?

[WC64]

three-year, $25.5 million deal

They just updated the article with the deal included this time. Yeah I know this isn't a big deal for most teams, but for the Reds this is huge lol. At least to me anyway /images/graemlins/grin.gif.

Oh yeah it matches Matt Clements deal with the Red Sox almost exactly they say.

[CCx]

Jesus that's it??? Argh...I hate my god damn Phillies so much, sometimes I wish I hadn't ripped the season ticket renewal form into so many pieces so I could rip it up again each time they fail to spend a little cash to keep a decent pitcher. Milton is a quality starter in the NL, you'll enjoy having him on your team (while we suffer with your former Cory Lidle as our #3 or 4, hooray)

[ThaSaltCracka]

wow, mid level players certainly are getting over paid this year /images/graemlins/shocked.gif, oh well. Seems like a good signing; most teams can use an effective lefty.

[bugstud]

[ QUOTE ]
wow, mid level players certainly are getting over paid this year /images/graemlins/shocked.gif, oh well. Seems like a good signing; most teams can use an effective lefty.

[/ QUOTE ]

So Milton gave up a lot of homers last year...what'll he do in Coors East?!?!??!?

[ThaSaltCracka]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
wow, mid level players certainly are getting over paid this year /images/graemlins/shocked.gif, oh well. Seems like a good signing; most teams can use an effective lefty.

[/ QUOTE ]

So Milton gave up a lot of homers last year...what'll he do in Coors East?!?!??!?

[/ QUOTE ]prolly give up more, thats my guess at least.

[mojorisin24]

Don't get too excited. Milton is another example of baseball's "market correction" of the last two seasons being "corrected" in a negative sense. A guy like Milton, who had a pretty decent season in '04, is just not worth that kind of money. Beyond eating innings, his peripheral numbers (K:BB, BB/9, etc.) are not that good, and he gave up an eye-popping 43 homers. Milton is a classic signing by a team like the Reds: he'll suck, they'll suck, and they'll be trying to unload that contract by the summer of '06.

[Jake (The Snake)]

I don't get it. What makes people think this guy is any good at all besides the fact he is lefty? What makes people think he did good/ok last year? Just look at his numbers! They're bad. And if i remember correctly, hes never had a season with an era under 4.

[bugstud]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't get it. What makes people think this guy is any good at all besides the fact he is lefty? What makes people think he did good/ok last year? Just look at his numbers! They're bad. And if i remember correctly, hes never had a season with an era under 4.

[/ QUOTE ]

He has a sub-1.2 whip and only 30 walks in 170 innings in 2002, before his injury. Those are some pretty good numbers, his ERA was a little inflated that year. Then last year, wuth his gopher tendencies and a 1.35 WHIP means he's worth 8.5 million a year?

/images/graemlins/confused.gif /images/graemlins/confused.gif /images/graemlins/confused.gif

So he's worth more than Nomar?

[WC64]

Just read this on chat wrap with Rob Neyer LOL

Keith (Cincinnati): Any thoughts on the Red's moves? Did they overpay? Will they trade an outfielder?

Rob Neyer: Overpay? For Paul Wilson and Eric Milton? Naaaaaaahhhh. Oh, except that Milton's an extreme fly-ball pitcher, and Great American Ballpark is where fly balls go to become home runs. Two years from now (if not sooner), the Reds will do whatever it takes to dump the last year of Milton's contract. This is probably the worst deal of the winter, right up there with Russ Ortiz.